Non-electric heated water

[Dutch552]

Solar water heaters similar to the one pictured above are commonplace in warmer climates such as Hawaii. If you were looking into a permenant remote source of warm water that would be the way to go. My current coop is close enough to the house to have ran electric to but for a long time I used two 150' extension cords. I have also used Romex for a short period of time as a long cheap extension cord.

The only other thing I could think of would involve a propane tank and heating element to warm a metal container of water for each use before dispensing it for the chickens.

 

[PlanterTomato]

I've been looking for a solution as well and sadly there isn't one that is convenient, safe and cheap at the same time.

In my opinion, the best solution if you have a small flock is to change the water several times a day. It's a pain, but the alternatives have many drawbacks. Here's some things to consider.....

Electricity:

- The safest and easiest approach to get power to your hens is to pay a professional electrician to bury the cord underground in approved pipe. This is expensive, but you can be confident that the power supply will be safe.
- Extension cords - If you go this route, you need to buy an extension cord that is designed for outdoor use and make sure it is designed to handle the electric load for your heating element. Heaters draw lots of power, so this is important. The guage of cord depends on the draw of the heating element, so determine this first and then get the right cord. That said, I don't like the idea of using extension cords over prolonged periods of time -- People can trip over them, pets and other animals can gnaw into them, rain or snow might get into the plug over time and cause a short. etc.
-Solar Panel and battery - This will cost a few thousand dollars. This seems like a lot of money if all you have is a backyard flock, not a commercial operation.
-Bowls painted black or devices like the "solar sipper" - the sun will warm the water a few degrees but not prevent the water from freezing for those who really experience this as an ongoing problem. Reviews from people who own the solar sipper suggest that it is of limited value. Needless to say, if you have overcast winters, this won't work at all.

Heating Elements:

- Bird bath de-icers and bucket heaters etc. These do work, but there's a danger in using them; If the insulation on the wiring gets damaged, the water will become electrified. Every year, livestock is killed by these devices. From an economic perspective, this is more of an issue with thoroughbred horses and cattle than chickens, but no one wants to go into the yard and find a flock of dead chickens. Be careful when using these devices and check to make sure that their is no fraying of the wires. You will also need a thermostat to turn most of these devices on and off.

Other Solutions:

- Salt - I've seen some people suggest adding salt to water to prevent it from freezing. Salt does change the freezing point of water but you need to make the water quite salty to achieve this. At that level of salinity, the water is undrinkable as it would throw off your chicken's electrolyte balance and kill them.
-Vinegar - I've also seen some people suggest adding vinegar to water to prevent it from freezing. While there is evidence that increasing the acidity of water is healthful for chickens, adding vinegar to water will not prevent it from freezing. I actually ran an experiment and placed water and water with vinegar into glasses and put them into my freezer. The water with vinegar froze just as fast as the pure water.

 

[lorain's fids]

This winter when it gets to be freezing out I am just going to be changeing the girls water often. I have 5 hens, and so I will buy 2 more plastic waters. I won't be using the metal one when it gets 2 cold out. I had done this years ago when I had rabbits. They did fine back then. This weekend I had adopted 3 rabbits, so in additon to changing the hens water, I'll be doing the rabbits too!

 

[Titus2Woman]

Quote:
Ultimately this will be our final solution. I want to run electric to the shed next to the coop as well. My FIL and my dad are both electricians so the cost should strictly be materials. But, there are other things that are making it so that we will not be doing that right away. So until we can do that, I need to find alternatives. It sounds like changing water daily is the best solution...

 

[JoePa]

The battery solution I suggested will work - the fact that it is 12 volts doesn't make it not able to heat the water - it's the wattage of the lights you put under the water - two 50 watt bulbs should do the job - if that doesn't do the job get more wattage - if you put two batteries in parallel the charge will last longer - if you have an electric outlet somewhere near the chicken coop - as suggested by someone - run some 14 gage wire out to the coop - you can make up an extension cord with a couple hundred feet of under ground UF no. 14 wire - I have an outdoor shop about 100 feet from the chicken coop with several outlets in it - I made up an extension cord by fitting one end with a socket that plugs into one of the outlets and the other end I hard wired it to an outlet I put into the chicken coop - when I want to provide this outlet with power I just plug in the cocket on the other end into a outlet in the shop - no big deal -

 

[jeria]

Bringing this back up as I'm planning for chickens next year and would love some ideas. Running extension cords is sort of doable but my dog loves chewing on them (destroyed 2 heavy orange power cords last year). So really not. I'm often gone from 6am until 6pm during the coldest months due to my job with no one else home. Also running power to the backyard is beyond my budget at this point as other reno items in my house have priority.

It isn't a worry most of our winter but there are often streaks of a week or so here and there with real cold and awful winds. Kansas City metro area.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Hands down, running electric to your coop is the best way to handle this. That was mandatory 24 years ago when I started! We ran about 100 feet of buried electric wire in PVC pipe from an outdoor light pole. Easy to do yourself if you follow all the rules. I have had a guinea coop without electric for 8 years now (was a mobile coop) & it is a pain carrying water several times a day when it is really cold. The black dishes from TSC are the way to go if you decide to do this.